Chapter 10
Sophia, while exploring the surroundings of the Keep-Lord’s Keep, soon noticed a peculiar characteristic of this fortress.
Generally, a Lord’s Keep is classified as a castle, but strictly speaking, it felt more like a lord’s mansion than a castle. Naturally, the walls weren’t that high, and often, there was no moat around the keep.
“But here, there’s a moat?”
The Lord’s Keep was unusually equipped with a moat for a keep. What were they trying to protect against by building a moat? Sophia wondered but soon recalled something and nodded in understanding.
Wasn’t there a region nearby embroiled in conflict?
The succession dispute between Agnon, a territory of the Kingdom of Franquia, and Baden-Baden, a territory of the Holy Griffin Empire, was intensifying. Even on her way to Strasbourg, she had seen deserters turned bandits attacking caravans, so the situation was easily imaginable.
“Perhaps these folks also prepared for that by adding a moat to the keep…”
But then, a problem arose. Sophia pinched her nose upon seeing the stagnant, greenish, rotten water in the moat.
Actually, it was quite common for water in a moat around a castle to rot, and it wasn’t particularly problematic.
Originally, a moat served as a primary defense to prevent enemies from easily scaling the walls, so it didn’t matter if the water rotted or became polluted. In fact, it was somewhat beneficial if it rotted enough to obscure the bottom and emitted a foul odor to demoralize invaders.
“But if that moat is near an aquifer, the story changes.”
Surface water and groundwater aren’t as strictly separated as one might think. After all, groundwater needs surface water supply to form, so it’s only natural.
Therefore, if polluted soil or water exists above an aquifer, the groundwater will inevitably become polluted. If the aquifer is deep enough, it might be relatively safe from surface pollution…
‘But with medieval-level technology, detecting and drawing water from such depths is impossible.’
Roughly so.
Moreover, if the moat’s water was drawn from a nearby river, it would have been better. But Sophia noticed that the keep’s moat seemed to be entirely supplied by groundwater.
In short, it meant there was a direct connection between the moat’s rotten water and the groundwater.
“Hoho, this is a mess.”
Sophia felt her mind becoming extremely complicated.
What to do? Tell the villagers that the groundwater in this area is now unusable due to the Lord’s Keep’s moat and that they should abandon the village immediately?
[…….]
“I know. They probably won’t listen to me. I know, but, ugh.”
Sophia made a troubled face at the absurd situation. Even if they managed to control the plague, it would surely break out again soon. Moreover, it seemed unlikely that the plague-ridden village would be the only one, which was another problem.
After hastily sealing the underground water gate supplying the moat, Sophia returned to the village and, hiding her worries, began directing people to care for the plague patients.
Boiling water, preparing oral rehydration solutions, strictly isolating excrement, and treating it with lime—while leading these efforts, Sophia felt her worries deepening.
Of course, the immediate treatment of the villagers wasn’t a big issue. After all, the key was to maintain their strength until the illness naturally subsided. Indeed, villagers who received continuous hydration, salt, and sugar through oral rehydration solutions were gradually recovering.
Even if someone was on the verge of death, Sophia had the Light Power and Energy Manipulation. Her acupuncture and bloodletting techniques spanned Ayurveda from the Chakra system, acupuncture from traditional Chinese medicine, and even chiropractic and osteopathic therapies.
With Light Power infused into her treatments, she could save lives with minimal effort as long as the person wasn’t dead yet. Even if they had stopped breathing, she was confident she could revive them with chest compressions or artificial respiration. Light Power made it possible.
Just moments ago, she had dramatically saved a village child who was on the brink of death. Though the child was exhausted and panting, they were alive, and that was what mattered. She gently massaged the child’s stiff forehead with her index finger, propped up their upper body, and had them drink the rehydration solution.
“Gulp. Th-thank you.”
Stopping the child’s slurred thanks due to weakness and missing teeth, Sophia laid them back down to sleep. Though the pervasive stench made it seem uninhabitable, it was, after all, proof that these people were alive, so it was fine.
The important thing was what came next.
‘What comes next, huh? Ah, what should I do?’
No matter how skilled Sophia was, she couldn’t do anything about the already polluted aquifer. Maybe teaching them how to build a water purification facility would be better? As she pondered, she was reminded by Gabrielle, the spirit who had guided her here.
[……?]
“Really? There are Druids and Alchemists nearby?”
Sophia thought.
Hmm. It seems like Gabrielle is carrying me again, doesn’t it?
+++++
After confirming that there were no critically ill patients in the village, Sophia handed over the necessary tasks to the relatively healthy villagers and hurriedly rode her horse, Jangbaljang, in the direction Gabrielle indicated.
On the way, she passed a few villages connected to the territory’s aquifer and briefly checked their situations. Fortunately, those villages had proper doctors dealing with the plague.
Though she encountered some quacks along the way and gave them a stern lesson, compared to a village with no doctors left, cursing their fate, the situation was much better.
After passing through several villages, Sophia had been riding for over half a day. Having departed a bit late in the morning, she arrived at the forest’s entrance as the sun began to set in the west.
While the plains she had ridden through were still somewhat bright, the forest was already darkening with the shadows of the hills and trees. Stopping her horse at the forest’s entrance, Sophia tied it to a nearby oak tree and boldly entered the forest.
The darkened trees cast long shadows. With the dense foliage, it was hard to believe the sun hadn’t set yet.
But Sophia didn’t falter or lose her way in the darkness. The Celtic Gias engraved on her body prevented her from getting lost in the forest, and thanks to the Energy Manipulation technique called ‘Bright Eye Skill,’ she could discern objects as clearly as in daylight even at night.
Moreover, Gabrielle was leading the way. How could she get lost when she wasn’t alone?
Even as the sun began to set, Sophia continued unerringly through the forest until she suddenly stopped at a certain point.
Suddenly, a pale light blocked her path.
“Is this a Will-o’-the-Wisp? So, it’s true that a Druid is here.”
[……!]
“No, I wasn’t doubting Gabrielle. Don’t react so sensitively. It just makes you look suspicious.”
[……!?]
Despite the Wisp blocking her path, Sophia remained composed. She even joked with Gabrielle, her spirit, while calmly observing the Wisp. She knew that Wisps, as summoned creatures, generally didn’t possess the aggression to attack first.
